Tavares next for partner registry?

Lori Pfister is a candidate for Tavares City Council in 2008. (Courtesy of Lori Pfister,…)

December 8, 2012|By Ludmilla Lelis, Staff Writer

TAVARES — America's Seaplane City could soon join the growing list of Florida cities and counties offering a legal alternative to unmarried couples who can't or won't marry: a domestic partnership.

City Council members this week unanimously agreed to take the first step toward setting up a registry for domestic partners. The ordinance could be modeled after Orlando's, which doesn't require registrants to be city residents.

It would be Lake County's first such registry for unmarried couples. Domestic partnerships don't carry the full legal weight of marriage but offer registrants some rights, including hospital visitation and the ability to make health-care decisions for an incapacitated partner.

Equality Florida, a civil-rights group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, says 11 cities and counties have registries, including Orange and Volusia counties.

At this week's meeting, the issue was applauded by about two dozen people, with no one from the public or the council speaking against it.

Dale Gruber of Paisley was the first to ask city officials to consider the registry. He thought would be good to have Tavares set up such a registry because the area's main hospital, Florida Hospital Waterman, is in the city.

He also pointed out that others who could benefit would include single people receiving Social Security payments and involved in a committed relationship. They might find it financially advantageous to remain single but would be interested in registering a domestic partnership.

"Tavares will be seen as even more welcoming and on the cutting edge," Gruber told city officials.

Mayor Bob Wolfe said he didn't see anything wrong with it, though it would not be applicable outside city limits.